When We Were Three
by Laralanthalasa
Summary: A really cute story about the childhood days of Tanis, Laurana and Gilthas. It's gonna be adorable!! REVIEW!! Chapter 3: A treasure hunt!
1. Chapter 1

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Well, I was reading my Dragonlance book today (Dragons Of Autumn Twilight) and got a spark of inspiration. This is a story about Tanis, Laurana and Gilthas when they were young and carefree. I hope you like it, please review!!

Porthios walked slowly down the marble stairs of the Tower of the Sun. how he detested chasing after his siblings. They had no respect for their father and always went to play even when they were told to stay in one spot.

"Gilthanas! Tanthalas! Lauralanthalasa!" he called. Hearing no reply, he grumbled and continued walking, heading towards their usual play area.

He began to grow a but uneasy when he got closer. Usually they were laughing, talking or shreiking as they played whatever game they could devise.

Still not hearing anything, he came to a halt jut outside the ring of bushes that surrounded the cleearing they played in.

Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a stifled giggle. However, before he had any time to react, a large amount of water fell on him, running into his eyes and soaking him from head to foot!

"Get out here now!" he shouted angrily.

There was a movement in the bushes to his left, then out came two of the three culprits.

First was Tanthalas. He was the 'adopted' son of Porthios's father, The Speaker Of The Sun. tanthalas's mother had been raped by a human warrior and she had died shorly after the birth of her half-breed son. The Speaker had taken the child in, and now it really was like he was part of the family.

Tanthalas was a skinny youth with chocolate brown eyes and unruly chin-length auburn hair. Being half-human, he was a trifle more mature, but only when seriousness was of great importance. The rest of the time he was a sparkling-eyed curious little boy.

The other was Porthios's younger sister Lauralanthalasa. She was the youngest of the four children and had just been deemed 'old enough' by Tanthalas and Gilthanas. That meant that she was now allowed to play with them and was accepted into their little 'gang.'

She was tall and graceful with long honey coloured hair, full putting lips and large liquid blue eyes. Her sweet nature was captivating and helped get the three trouble-makers out of trouble.

There was one problem though, Gilthanas was not present.

"Where is Gilthanas?" Porthios asked, trying to control his temper as he wiped the water from his eyes.

The two children looked at each other briefly then clamped their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing.

Porthios noticed that Tanthalas' gaze went from the ground, slowly up to above Porthios' head.

Porthios gazed up to find a surprised looking Gilthanas.

Gilthanas was like the middle child. He had brown hair and the same bright blue eyes as Lauralanthalasa. He was bright and came up with most of the plans that the three put into action. Gilthanas was also very protective of his younger sister.

He seemed to be struggling, then Porthios realized that Gilthanas was stuck up in the tree branch he had been hanging from. It was obvious that he had dumped the water, for he was still holding the bucket in his hands.

"Porthios," Gilthanas began, "Help me!"

Porthios sighed, then stood on his tip-toes and un-hooked Gilthanas from the branch that had snagged him.

Tanthalas and Lauralanthalasa had given up trying not to laugh and were rolling on the ground nearly breathless form laughing so hard. Gilthanas soon joined in and pretty soon even Porthios let out a chuckle.

"Come now, father wishes to speak to the three of you," Porthios said suddenly, making them stop abruptly. They got up and followed Porthios, who led them back to the tower.

"That was a great prank!" Lauralanthalasa commented, seeming as thought it had been her idea.

"Yes, but Tanthalas almost gave it away when he giggled," Gilthanas made a face at the auburn haired boy.

"No!" Tanthalas argued. "He was even more surprised when I giggled, he was not suspecting it!"

The other two considered it for a moment, then nodded eagerly in agreement.

"But next time, the prank will be even better!" Gilthanas proclaimed. They all nodded in agreement.

Porthios sighed. He would probably find a snake or some other creature in his bed.

Arriving at the tower, he ushered inside, made sure he hadn't lost one, then led them to the Hall of the Speaker.

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Ya, ok so it was a little short. That is only the first part though, so if people like it, then I will write a whole little set of some of the adventures they have. I hope you liked it, and please, don't hesitate to email me. Hey if you want to, you can suggest an adventure for them to have!! My email addy is Laurana_16_elf@hotmail.com so write to me!! And remember, REVIEW!!


	2. Chapter 2

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Well, I would like to thank those people who reviewed the first chapter! I am glad people are liking it…so I will write more! I have decided there will be a few little adventures, maybe even a big one later on in the story…If you like what I am doing enough, then I will go and write more about the childhood of the other companions. Caramon's and Raistlin's were mentioned in Soulforge, but it was not as in-depth as I would have liked it to be, so that may be an upcoming project for me. But enough of that for now, on to the story!

The hall of the speaker was a large, dome-shaped room that looked too big for the slender tower of the Sun to hold. There were windows designed to reflect sunlight, no matter what time of day it was and the ceiling was a large mosaic of coloured glass portraying a picture of the sun and stars.

Sitting at the throne at the front of the room was the Speaker. He was a splendid sight in his yellow robes, his blue eyes sharp and his face smooth. Porthios took after him when it came to the dark hair, but Lauralanthalasa had his big luminous eyes. Gilthanas, on the other hand, was an image of his mother, with blonde hair and brown eyes.

Standing side by side, the three children waited to see what the reason was for disrupting their play.

The Speaker cleared his throat.

"I would like to ask the three of you a favour," he said in his deep rumbling voice. He always went straight to the point with the children, so as not to confuse them with long lengthly speeches.

Tanthalas, Gilthanas and Lauralanthalasa exchanged a quick look between them and Tanthalas raised an eyebrow when Lauralanthalasa and Gilthanas furrowed their brows at him. Their looks were the way of saying that he had been elected as their representative for the day.

"Yes Speaker?" he asked tentatively.

"We are having visitors from Silvanesti and I would like to ask that the three of you be on your best behaviour…goodness knows what would happen if there is an occurrence like the last mishap…"

Tanthalas and Gilthanas gazed at eachother knowingly. The last time had been just the two of them and there had been, in fact, several mishaps.

"Of course Speaker," Tanthalas replied, looking suddenly serious. The Speaker stared at him hard and Tanthalas tried his very best to keep his gaze from faltering.

Then the Speaker chuckled. "I know that I can count on the three of you to …and Porthios! Why are you wet?"

Porthios was about to reply, but never got the chance to speak over the laughter from his three siblings.

"You can go now," The Speaker said with a wave of his hand, trying to keep a straight face.

"So, what did happen last time?" Lauralanthalasa asked as the three of them walked back out of the tower. She could not remember, probably because she had been babied up until only a few years ago.

"Well," Gilthanas began, "We made several door traps with molasses-,"

"And stuck things in the guest chambers!" Tanthalas interrupted.

Lauralanthalasa laughed as the two of them told her the specifics of one of the things they had done.

"You should have seen father," Gilthanas bragged.

"He looked ready to explode!" Tanthalas finished. All three of them giggled and entered their play area.

"So what shall we do?" Tanthalas asked. The three of them lay on the ground and began thinking up an activity.

After several suggestions, they came up with the best idea yet…

"A tree fort!" Gilthanas exclaimed. 

"It will be great!" Tanthalas added eagerly.

The three of them began to gather branches and twigs from the surrounding area. They found brush and leaves as well.

When it came time to putting it in the tree however, there was a small problem.

"We're too short," Lauralanthalasa complained. There was a hint of a whine in her usually sweet voice.

"Well, we will just have to put it on the ground," Tanthalas said. He generally solved the difficulties they ran into.

So they piled branches against the best tree they could find, then proceeded to conceal the entrance and hide holes with leaves and brush.

When the last leaf had been tossed on top, they brushed off their hands and admired their handy-work.

It looked like a big pile of sticks and leaves, but it was actually a cleverly concealed fort. By entering the door hidden near the back, you could enter into the small covered area between the sturdy tree and the pile of branches.

They would have all gone in and stayed there for several hours, but the sun was setting and they had to go home for dinner and to meet the guests that would be there soon.

Arriving at the tower led to a complicated cleansing process so that they would look acceptable to the Silvanesti elves. The servants had the three of them ready fairly quickly.

The three of them were rather unhappy at being in fancy clothing and were even more surprised to see one another in the elaborate garb.

Dinner was to be held outside under the stars at the table outside in the garden behind the castle. 

There were several elves from Silvanesti and they all looked serious, pale faced and (as Tanthalas would later describe it) cranky.

Conversation flowed for the first little while…The Speaker and the others talking about the prosperity of the kingdom and so forth.

Tanis and Gilthanas, bored with the conversation began making faces at Lauralanthalasa who was sitting across from them. She began to giggle, but quickly put her hand over her mouth so they wouldn't get into trouble.

Gilthanas picked up a spoon, put a grape on it and flung it at Tanthalas. It smacked Tanthalas in the side of the face. Tanthalas quick as a flash, flung water back.

Lauralanthalasa was sure she had cracked a rib from trying not too laugh at the trouble the other two were causing. They were still flinging things at eachother, now switching to larger pieces of fruit. The Speaker had not seemed to notice yet.

Eventually, Lauralanthalasa joined in, firing an occasional piece of fruit across the table.

Suddenly, things went bad. Gilthanas flung a piece of apple at Tanthalas. He missed and Tanthalas made a lunge for it. Gilthanas lunged after him and the two of them landed on the table, sending a platter of potatoes sailing through the air…

Only to land on top of one of the Silvanesti's elves heads.

There was silence for a moment as they all stared in horror at the elf with potatoes in his hair and on his face. A moment later, he stood up with an angry exclamation and marched off, his companions following close behind.

The Speaker was silent for a moment more, then he turned and faced Tanthalas and Gilthanas who were still sprawled across the top of the table. The worst part was, there was no anger in his eyes, just disappointment.

"I am very disappointed in the three of you," was all he said before walking away.

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Well, did we like that? Uh-oh, in trouble again…when are they going to learn to behave better? Will they be punished? All these questions and more to be answered in the next chapter, so for now, please REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 3

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Yay! An update! I love how kids are so dramatic. So here is a chapter filled with drama and worry! (Oh and adventure, since these are such adventurous kids! ^_^) Hope you like it!

Slowly the three children walked back to their rooms. Their heads were hung and they walked slowly, their step lacking the usual bounce.

They all gathered in Tanthalas' room, each taking up their respective seat in the room. Lauralanthalasa was seated in the chair below the window, Gilthanas stretched out on the rug before the fireplace and Tanthalas laid across the bed, his feet dangling over the edge.

It was finally Gilthanas who broke the silence.

"He didn't _look_ mad."

"Maybe," Tanthalas answered slowly.

"Don't worry," Lauralanthalasa soothed, "If he was angry, we would be in trouble. But we're not, we got away." She then frowned and pulled at a grape that had been caught in her gold hair.

"Maybe we are going to get in trouble later," Tanthalas sighed. He was trying to be hopeful, but it did not seem worth it.

"How about we not worry so much," Gilthanas pleaded. He hated it when the atmosphere was this dark.

"Al right!" Tanthalas agreed, sitting up. He seemed cheerful again.

"What will we do now then?" Lauralanthalasa asked.

"How about we-" Tanthalas did not get a chance to finish, because at that moment, the children's nursemaid, Amayra, bustled into the room. 

"Time for bed," she told them firmly. She had not looked after them long, being rather young, but she had learned the first night that she had to be firm when it came time for bed.

"Amayra, will you tell me a story?" Lauralanthalasa asked, already taken over to the 'dark-side' (As Tanthalas and Gilthanas called it).

"Of course!" Amayra agreed. Lauralanthalasa ran over to Amayra and grabbed her hand.

"Come now master Gilthanas," Amayra ordered. Reluctantly, Gilthanas got up off the floor and sulkily followed Amayra out of the room.

~*~*~

The next morning when the sun broke over the horizon, the three children had already left their beds. They snuck into the kitchen, took some biscuits for their breakfast, then proceeded to their 'fort' where they began to plan the day's activities.

"Maybe we should hide until we know the Speaker is not angry," Tanthalas said, bringing back the worry. He had a biscuit precariously balanced on his knee and was munching on another one.

"Don't be such a worry!" Lauralanthalasa scolded. "I think we should so something fun."

"Let's be spies!" Gilthanas exclaimed excitedly. The other two children nodded eagerly. They all wiped their hands on their pants, then ran back to the tower to find someone to follow and 'spy' on.

Almost accidentally, they stumbled on one of the cook's assistants and proceeded to follow him around the house, mentally recording his every move. 

When he stopped, the three 'spies' hid around the corner watching and waiting for his next move.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming from the other direction.

"We have to hide!" Lauralanthalasa whispered frantically.

"In here!" Tanthalas hissed, opening a door on the left and hurrying inside, the other two at his heels.

He shut the door quietly and leaned against it, listening for the footsteps to pass.

"I think they're gone," he said when he could not hear anything from the other side of the door. Laralanthalasa was next to him, but Gilthanas was no where to be found.

"Gilthanas?" Tanthalas called softly. For the first time he took a look at the room they had stumbled into.

It must have been the library, without a doubt. From the floor to the ceiling were shelves filled with books. Some of them were not even bound, just sheaves of parchment tied tog ether with strings. It looked to be a long room, and there were windows along the left side, under which were chairs for reading. There was a musty smell, only to be expected.

"Over here!" Gilthanas called from one of the many shelves in the back of the room.

Lauralanthalasa and Tanthalas walked over to where Gilthanas was running his finger along some of the spines of the books.

"I have never even _been_ here," Lauralanthalasa said incredulously. 

She began to look at some of the letters on the spine. Some were clear, and some were peeling away, barely legible. Out of curiosity, she pulled out a thick book with a dark binding and began flipping through the pages.

"Look!" Tanthalas pointed to something on the floor. He bent over and picked up a folded piece of paper. "This fell out of the book."

He unfolded it and glanced at what was written of the single piece of parchment.

When he saw what it was, he gasped and nearly dropped it.

"What is it?" Gilthanas asked, going over to peer over Tanthalas' shoulder. Lauralanthalasa looked over the other shoulder, on her tiptoes, as Tanthalas was a bit taller then she was.

"Is it what I think it is?" Tanthalas asked in a hushed voice. "A treasure map!"

Indeed that was what it looked like. On the parchment, was what looked like a rough map of the Tower and the surrounding area. There was an un-broken dotted line that ran along the page, twisting and turning, ending in a large, black '**X**' near the bottom of the page. 

Tanthalas turned it over and on the back was writing.

"Take three hundred steps from the-," he began, reading slowly, then, "It _is_ a treasure map!"

"We're going on a treasure hunt!" Lauralanthalasa exclaimed shrilly.

"Shhhh!" Gilthanas and Tanthalas hushed her in unison.

"Do you want everyone to know?" Tanthalas asked her in a hushed tone.

"How are we going to keep the treasure for ourselves if everyone knows?" Gilthanas echoed, his voice barely audible.

"Sorry," Lauralanthalasa answered, her voice now a whisper as well.

"We will have to get supplies," Tanthalas said seriously. The three nodded at eachother, then crept to the door.

They checked that no one was outside by listening through the door, then, satisfied, they left the library, heading for the kitchen.

After that, they went to their rooms and packed things in a sack. Luckily, they managed to avoid Amayra, who would surely have asked them what they were up to.

Their final stop was to the shed that was out back, where the gardens were. They took three small trowels and shoved them in their sacks, along with the rest of the need supplies.

"Should we tell someone where we are going to be?" Laralanthalasa asked.

"No, we can't risk someone finding out," Gilthanas answered. "Where do we start?" he asked Tanthalas, who was holding the map open and inspecting it carefully.

"The bird fountain," Tanthalas answered promptly.

"Let's go!" Gilthanas said, then led the way to the bird fountain.

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Sorry I had to end it there, but I did not want to have to leave you in suspense or anything quite yet. And yes there may be a cliffie or two yet…Not so much worry. Poor Tanthalas thought he was going to get into trouble…and he may yet. But for now, only one thing must be done…REVIEW!

Next chapter: The treasure hunt begins!!^_^


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